Historical Background and the Purpose of the Action Committee
Historical Background:
Approximately eighty one years after the outbreak of World War II and the murder of around six million Jews by the Nazi German regime and its collaborators, Holocaust historiography continues to focus primarily on Jews as victims.
Few are aware of another phenomenon: the heroism of Jews who saved fellow Jews during the Holocaust, acting with extraordinary self sacrifice and knowingly risking their own lives, even when they had opportunities to save themselves. Many paid for these actions with their lives.
Thousands of Jews acted with remarkable courage and used deception, forgery, smuggling, hiding, rescue operations, and other methods in order to ensure that Jews would remain alive after the destruction and the war had ended. Thanks to them, hundreds of thousands of Jews survived. Many later immigrated to Israel, fought in the wars for its independence, established families, and contributed to the rebirth and prosperity of the State of Israel.
Unfortunately, to this day, the extraordinary actions of thousands of Jews who rescued fellow Jews under unimaginable danger have not received proper public attention, appropriate public recognition, or a central place on the public agenda. This subject has not received the recognition it deserves from the State of Israel through its laws and institutions, including Yad Vashem. Jewish rescuers have received recognition from foreign countries and world leaders, but not from the State of Israel and its institutions.
Most Jews in Israel and around the world remain entirely unaware of the heroic phenomenon of Jews who saved fellow Jews during the Holocaust. This stands in contrast to the broad and justified recognition given to the Righteous Among the Nations who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Approximately 27,300 non Jewish Righteous Among the Nations have received recognition and honor, while Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust have largely been ignored.
Research into the phenomenon of the Righteous Among the Nations shows that many of them were assisted by Jews during rescue operations, and that without Jewish assistance their missions would most likely have failed. Yet current legislation does not acknowledge the actions and heroism of Jewish rescuers who saved fellow Jews, even though other forms of Jewish heroism are recognized within the law.
We would like to present the words of Marion Pritchard, a non Jewish woman from the Netherlands who rescued many Jews in cooperation with Jewish rescuers and was recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. She wrote:
“By failing to recognize the moral heroism of Jewish rescuers, who, if caught, were in even greater danger than the Righteous Among the Nations, history is being distorted. It also contributes to the common but false belief that Jews were cowards and went like sheep to the slaughter. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Purpose of the Action Committee:
We, the Action Committee, seek to correct this historical injustice, pursue justice, and add a clause to the Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Law in which these Jewish heroes, whose rescue efforts have never been mentioned in the law, will finally be recognized.
We propose that the following sentence be added to Section 1, Subsection 10 of the law:
“And to Jews who displayed supreme heroism in saving their fellow Jews,”
or
“And to Jews who risked their lives to save their fellow Jews,”
or another wording to be determined by Yad Vashem and the Knesset of Israel.
Such an amendment to the law would bring this important issue to the awareness of the 14.4 million Jews living in Israel and around the world. The amendment would provide recognition to Jews who saved fellow Jews during the Holocaust and bring historical justice to these heroic individuals. Its purpose is to pass on the legacy of Jewish heroism and rescue to the Jewish people in general, and especially to younger generations, both today and for generations to come.